~ Chapter I ~

The Lu residence was always a quiet one save for the soft snores of the three occupants and the sing-song tunes the birds outside were chirping just like every other morning. The clock read 4:57 AM this Monday, and it was only a matter of time before the family of three got up and about to ready themselves for the day.

Slowly, sunlight streamed through pastel curtains in a certain room, lighting up the previously dark space and making various objects namely, the closet, a study table, the bedside table, the bed itself, and a tuft of blond hair peeking through soft sheets visible.

Three minutes passed and out flowed the lyrics of ‘Way To Go’ through the speakers of his iPhone placed atop the bedside table, hands blindly reaching for the source of the noise that disrupted the once silent room and swiped the screen to turn the alarm off. The owner of the said phone groggily sat up and rubbed at sleepy eyes, slowly cracking them open to reveal almond eyes that roamed somberly across the room before leaving the comfort of his own sheets to freshen himself up, not forgetting to bring his phone with him.

Soft pads can be heard as bare feet strode towards the bathroom right across his room and entered, stopping in front of the mirror and pouted at his appearance. He looked weird. His hair was pointing in different directions and his eyes still looked dazed.

Swiping across his phone to unlock it and entering the code, he opened up his playlist and played it on random. Having music whilst he showered became a habit as he found it too boring with only the sound of the shower running, it also kind of helped him wake up faster. Placing the gadget near the sink, he undressed out of his pajamas and slid the shower curtains for his thirty minute shower.

~   ~   ~

As opposed to the comfortable silence before five AM, it wasn’t much so after.

The Lus were a family a lot of people wished they had, and it wasn’t just because they were slightly well-off. The family consisted of the father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. Lu who worked as a dentist of his own clinic and owned a small café respectively. The third member would be their only child, Luhan, who was still in his second year of high school. A responsible one at that, and the parents could say that they were more than proud.

Their personalities were something everyone was sure to like. They were all upbeat and always had this welcoming aura following them and it was just hard not to enjoy their presence. The family had this strong relationship with themselves that secrets were no longer secrets but something they would open up and talk about. People would often mistake them as a group of friends if it weren’t for the parent’s obvious age difference from their son despite the three’s baby faces, which probably comes from being Chinese.

It was half past five when Mr. and Mrs. Lu heard the soft pads of rapid footsteps near the staircase and out popped the soon turning 18 student from the kitchen entrance, clad in his school uniform as he greeted his parents with a chirpy ‘good morning!’.

“Well, good morning to you too!” Mrs. Lu greeted in response with his father sending him a smile in return as he took his seat in the round dining table.

“As I was saying,” Mrs. Lu continued, turning her back to them and focused on not burning the bacon, “I just served a couple in the café yesterday. And my, aren’t they just the sweetest, you should have seen them darling,” Mrs. Lu said excitedly, “They were whispering sweet nothings into each other’s ears and the guy even planned to take her to the fair that afternoon!”

“Mom, you shouldn’t eavesdrop on people like that…” Luhan lectured to which made his father chuckle and earning a pout from his mother. His mother could be such a child sometimes.

“I wasn’t though, I just happened to be near them when I heard,” Mrs. Lu defended, “and they were too cute too, they were just like us darling!”

Luhan didn’t even bother telling her mom that what she did was exactly eavesdropping while Mr. Lu simply smiled at her wife.

“Which reminds me,” Mrs. Lu said as she placed the plate of eggs and bacon on the middle of the table, “I wonder when our baby Han will bring home a girl~”

“Mom, may I just remind you how I’m not interested in girls?”

“Oops, sorry and let me rephrase: I wonder when our baby Han will bring home a boy~” Mrs. Lu teased.

And for the first time this morning, Mr. Lu spoke, and it had to be teasing remark, “Or could it be that our baby Han will instead be the one brought over to someone else’s?” which earned a hearty laugh from Mrs. Lu.

Needless to say, Luhan flushed red and sported a pout throughout the whole duration of the Lu’s breakfast. As mentioned above, it was no secret the uality of Luhan to his parents and he’ll forever be grateful that they showed no signs of disappointment or anger but understanding, acceptance, and warmth.

As soon as Luhan took the last bites of his breakfast, he stood up and slung the strap of his backpack over his shoulder and told them he’ll be leaving now.

“Careful on your way dear!”

Luhan hummed a reply before slipping on his shoes and walking to his school a good fifteen minute walk from his home. His parents would always ask him if he’d instead want a lift but he would only always reply that he preferred walking. Aside from the conveniently short distance, walking was also a sort of a morning exercise for him. Plugging on his earphones, he played his favorite songs and sighed as a comforting breeze passed through, slightly ruffling his hair as he walked to his destination.

~   ~   ~

Murmurs were heard here and the daily gossips were there, while others were already self-studying, and there Luhan was, slumped over his desk and occasionally taking a peek over the clock above the blackboard. Aside from not wanting to be late for his classes, there was the other reason on why he always went here this early, and that was him wanting to see his ‘crush’ before class starts. He perked up when his eyes met half past six and shifted his head towards the window beside him. His position had the perfect view of the school gates that his ‘crush’ would soon pass through. Just the thought of seeing him already brought a silly smile on his face.

Any minute now…

Sure enough, a tall and lanky brunette appeared not a few minutes later and Luhan tried not to make himself obvious as he leaned back on his chair and sent discreet glances instead.

The urge to sigh dreamily like a love-sick teenager was hard to resist, who wouldn’t when someone who looked like he just came out of a manga appears in front of your eyes? Only in Luhan’s case, it would be a floor and a few feet away from his eyes.

The point was that ‘crush’ was extremely handsome, his eyes always had this bored look in them, he had a gorgeous nose, pink and soft looking lips that he always as a habit, and a mushroom of a hair atop his head which Luhan found endearingly cute. His skin was porcelain white, possibly even whiter than his, and not to mention a body akin to Minami Haruka’s seme’s bodies. His tall and lean figure was to die for.

Although Luhan would admit that it was these physical aspects that attracted him to his crush, it wasn’t the entirety of it all. His looks were only a plus – a very big plus at that – but there was something else th